Tudor Wharf Draft Environmental Impact Report EOEA # 6744 



Inner Harbor 



Specific roosting and loafing areas appear to 

 be located within Boston Harbor, particularly 

 in the inner harbor, during the non-breeding 

 season: typically, late August through early 

 April. The physical characteristics of these 

 areas consisted, principally, of timber 

 wharves which were abundant throughout the 

 harbor. The herons appeared to select 

 specific wharves for roosting sites as the 

 birds were somewhat randomly distributed 

 throughout the harbor. However, as yet, no 

 information exists to maintain this 

 observation as being characteristic of the 

 heron. 



Characteristics of Tudor Wharf 



During LEC's site visit to Tudor Wharf, 

 approximately 13 black-crowned night herons 

 were observed roosting beneath the existing 

 Tudor Wharf (warehouse) building. The 

 timbers supporting this building were densely 

 spaced, and not uniformly distributed, 

 suggesting the construction of more than one 

 support structure during the history of this 

 wharf. Many of the pilings were free- 

 standing and not performing a support 

 function. These pilings appeared to serve as 

 the principle roosting sites for the herons. 

 Cross-beams, which allowed adequate space for 

 the herons to stand, were also occupied by 

 the birds. 



At Tudor Wharf spacing between pilings was 

 broad enough to accommodate the wing span of 

 the herons. The absence of herons from 

 other, more closely spaced pilings suggested 

 that spacing may be important in the 

 selection of this site. The Tudor Wharf site 

 also allowed relatively unobstructed viewing 

 in three directions; north, east, and south. 

 This was a characteristic present on several 

 wharves within the inner Boston Harbor. 



The third characteristic of the Tudor Wharf 

 site was the elevation of the deck in 

 relation to the mean high water line noted on 



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